The weather is starting to get warmer and most travelers are looking ahead to the summer season, when millions of Americans will set out on larger vacations in the U.S. and abroad.
According to online booking site Hopper, the average summer vacation will cost less compared to last summer, thanks to lower airfares and steady hotel and car rental prices.
The best prices right now are on domestic airfare, averaging $290 per round trip ticket -- about 3% less than last April. But if you're looking to fly, you want to act fast: Hopper says fares will begin to rise in May as consumer demand shifts towards summer vacations, reaching a peak at the end of May and early June.
"Airfare will peak this summer at $315 per round trip domestic ticket, before falling as low as $264 per ticket into the shoulder season," the website said.
Hopper says lower prices on domestic routes come as seat capacity has fully surpassed pre-pandemic levels and demand for travel remains strong.
"Airlines flew an estimated 88.3 million seats in March of this year, up 3.3% from last year and up 8.8% from this time in 2019," the website noted. "Airlines have achieved higher capacities by adding larger planes on routes rather than adding more flights as they remain constrained on physical supply of new aircrafts. In March, 8% fewer flights departed from U.S. airports for domestic destinations than at the same time in 2019."
Top domestic destinations are mostly smaller, more off the beaten track cities and towns across the U.S., according to Hopper. Cape Cod, Massachusetts tops the list, followed by Cody, Wyoming with access to Yellowstone National Park, and Bar Harbor, Maine, with access to Acadia National Park.
For those looking to travel abroad, international destinations continue to improve following two years of bloated prices due to quickly recovering demand, high fuel prices and supply constraints, Hopper says.
"Airfare to most major regions of the world has dropped compared to last year with the exception of trips to Canada. International fares remain higher than pre-pandemic levels to most regions, as higher fuel prices persist and airlines continue to rebuild capacity to many regions," according to the forecast.
Asia remains top of mind for travelers, with Osaka, Japan and Seoul, South Korea the top two trending destinations, even with airfares over $1,300 per ticket, Hopper says. Other trending international destinations include beachfront cities like Nice, France; Malaga, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Ponta Delgada, Portugal.
Hotel stays are currently averaging $206 per night, in line with prices at this time last year, according to Hopper. Top destinations for stays include major U.S. cities like Las Vegas ($186 per night), New York City ($388), Chicago ($239), Los Angeles ($252) and Houston ($119).
If you need to rent a car at your destination, rates are averaging $42 per day with most travelers looking for 4-day rentals. Although the cost is roughly 3% more than last year, Hopper says prices have improved dramatically from 2021, when pandemic fears and low supply of rental cars results in record-high daily rates.
Top destinations for rental cars are warm weather cities like Orlando ($26 per day), Los Angeles ($39) and Las Vegas ($39), as well as some larger cities across the U.S. like Philadelphia ($35), Phoenix ($53), Washington ($36) and Houston ($45).
Hopper's forecast says travelers should expect disruption rates to increase as peak travel months like June, July and August approach. Last summer saw delay rates surge by 25% between March and July, with millions of passengers impacted.